Buy American NOW

Pursuant to the President’s Executive Order issued April 18th, all agencies must provide a report by mid-September that assesses their own compliance, use, and waivers of the Buy American Act. Additionally, agencies must also propose policies that will ensure maximum use of materials produced in the United States, including manufactured products, components of manufactured products, and materials such as steel, iron, aluminum, and cement – impacting the manufacturing and construction industries. It is clear that the White House is looking for agencies to reduce the number of waivers and more strictly enforce the Act.

Furthermore, this will not be a “one and done” scenario. Beginning November 15th, all agencies must then continue to report annually starting this November 15th on the status of their compliance with the Buy American Laws. Service providers with foreign workers may also be impacted.

The Order also looks to reform the H-1B visa process to ensure that ONLY the most-skilled or highest-paid petitions benefit.